A NEW business network will be launched on Wednesday July 6th, to help companies get more involved in strengthening communities and improving lives, as part of a wider £3m project in the Great Yarmouth borough.
The Responsible Business Network Great Yarmouth will be delivered by the charity Business in the Community and will see like-minded businesses work in collaboration with each other and their communities to run initiatives that address local social, environmental and economic priorities, while supporting their own commercial objectives.
The network is part of Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s Neighbourhoods that Work Project, which started last year and aims to improve people’s lives through a pioneering joined-up way of working with communities themselves.
This business network launch event, at St George’s Theatre, is an opportunity for invited businesses to shape the network, discuss what they would like to gain from it and what they could offer their communities, whether that be mentoring, work placements, business advice, or some other support. It will also be a chance to hear from businesses already running responsible business initiatives in their communities.
Funded with a £3m grant from the Big Lottery Fund, the wider Neighbourhoods that Work Project is led by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and delivered with the help of voluntary sector partners, including Business in the Community. One of its aims is to increase capacity in communities, enabling them to become more resilient in the face of changing social, economic and environmental conditions.
Leanne Wilson, Business in the Community transformation manager, who will be managing the network, said: “The responsible business network will be shaped and led by local businesses – and we hope it will grow further with the support of companies of all sizes and sectors. By working in partnership, we will be able to have a greater impact on both businesses and communities.
“The launch event will be an opportunity to find out more from those who created the project, to hear from businesses who are already involved and share some of our over 30 years’ experience of bringing business together to create change in communities. While spaces at the event are limited, we would like to hear from any businesses who would like to find out more about joining the network and getting involved.”
Cllr Penny Carpenter, chair of the borough council’s housing and neighbourhoods committee, and deputy council leader, said: “The Neighbourhoods that Work Project supports one of the council’s priorities, which is to work with partners to build stronger, better connected, more resilient communities.
“Businesses are a key part of communities and their prosperity is linked to the wellbeing of residents, who are invariably their current or future workers and customers. Corporate social responsibility, in its different forms, is an ideal means for businesses of all sizes to be more active in investing in their communities in a way that is meaningful and useful to them, and the business network is a great way to support this.”
Businesses interested in finding out more or joining the network can call Leanne Wilson 07855 442051 or email [email protected]
Examples of local organisations already running initiatives in their communities with the support of Businesses in the Community:
Adnams Food 4 Thought Initiative
- Adnams have created a project to support schools in inspiring entrepreneurial skills, encouraging healthy eating and developing softer skills for their students. This project allows schools, with support from the Adnams Project Coordinator, to apply for funding allowing them to create their own crops of fruit and vegetables by way of a preparing a business plan. The children are involved at every stage from calculating costings and expenses, expected yield, tools required etc to create their own fruit and veg business. Once completed Adnams will purchase the products back from the schools to prepare in their hotels and pubs. The teams from Adnams, including graphic designers and HR advisors, also provide support while the chefs go into schools to deliver demonstrations to the children on the preparation of healthy meals using the produce they have grown. BITC’s Transformation Manager will be supporting Adnams in the expansion of this project across the Great Yarmouth borough, drawing on her local connections.
Thurne Mill
- Business in the Community is supporting Debra Nicholson, from Thurne Mill and the Wind Energy Museum, to work with local schools to engage children with the borough’s wind energy heritage and future opportunities in offshore wind. With the ability to design bespoke and practical learning experiences for all ages to tie in with curriculum requirements, they recently had 550 youngsters from a number of schools design and build their own windmills to help the museum be the only place in England to celebrate Global Wind Day.
Notes:
- Business in the Community is the Prince’s Responsible Business Network. Its members work together to tackle a wide range of issues that are essential to building a fairer society and a more sustainable future. It is a business-led, issue focused charity with more than 30 years’ experience of mobilising business. It engages thousands of businesses through its programmes driven by a core membership of over 800 organisations from small enterprises to global corporations. www.bitc.org.uk
- The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. They are responsible for giving out 40 per cent of the money raised by the National Lottery for good causes and invest over £650m a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
